NationwideDentalBenefits.com

• What do you mean by “gnarly”?
• I’m looking at your photo and you don’t look like you have bad teeth!

Just like in life, we’ve (some of us) learned that beauty isn’t always found on the outside, it’s on the inside. With respect to my teeth; the reverse is true… What may look pretty on the outside - is ugly on the inside!

Cavities have taken over my mouth. After many years of well rehearsed and practiced Dentist Aversion Techniques (I’ve mastered them and will post a separate blog just for that someday) the cavities have taken on a life of their own. Slowly deteriorating the structure of my teeth to the point of no return. I once took a bite of garlic bread (it goes so well with spaghetti & meatballs!) and before I knew it, I had half of a tooth rolling around in my mouth with the garlic bread. Gross huh?

Well, enough years have past that both time and circumstance are dictating that I abandon my perfected craft of dentist aversion techniques.

So, my hunt for a dentist, a dental plan and good teeth begin!

I am self employed, so don’t have health insurance, vision insurance, 401(k), vacation pay, sick pay, days off or DENTAL INSURANCE!

And talk about confusing! Have you ever had to go on the hunt for dental insurance? I have! It’s no “barrel of laughs” (I also get cliches wrong MOST of the time, so if you think I’ve used a cliche incorrectly, you are most likely correct. Forgive me, it’s one of my idio-something-or-nothers) to go searching for this illusive THING that I think exists but don’t really have a grasp on yet.

So here is what I found out:

• Dental Insurance works very much like health insurance - they come in a variety of “flavors” if you will. PPO, DHMO, POS, Indemnity and Scheduled.
  
  • PPO stands for Preferred Provider
    Organization. Basically, the network of dentists that the members are referred to offer discounted fees to the plan members.You can typically use a dentist outside of the PPO’s network, but you will only be reimbursed
    the discounted fee for the services rendered and have to pay any additional amount yourself.
    
  • DHMO stands for Dental Health Maintenance
    Organization. The way a DHMO works is it provides you dental services through its network of dentists in exchange for some form of prepayment. If you use a dentist outside of the network, you will most likely be responsible for the entire bill.
    
  • POS stands for Point of Service. A POS plan allows you to use either a DHMO dentist or a dentist not in the network. You get to choose in-network care of out-of-network care when you make your dental appointment and typically, you will incur higher out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network care.
    
  • Indemnity. An indemnity plan is also known as a traditional plan. With an indemnity plan you can visit any dentist you like. They typically pay a percentage of “usual, customary and reasonable” charges for covered services.
    
  • Scheduled. A scheduled plan or scheduled reimbursement plan reimburses you for a set amount based on a fee schedule. The balance due, if any is your responsibility. They include a calendar year maximum, a deductible and waiting periods for certain procedures.
    
• Most dental coverage is designed to ensure that the patient receives
  regular preventive care.
  
  • High quality dental care rarely requires the complex, multiple resources often required by medical care. A thorough examination by the dentist and a set of x-rays are all it usually takes to diagnose a problem. By and large, dental care is provided by a general practitioner, although some cases may require the services of a dental specialist. Because most dental disease is preventable, dental benefits plans are structured to encourage patients to get the regular, routine care so vital to preventing and diagnosing the onset of serious disease. In fact, most dental benefits plans require patients to assume a greater portion of the costs for treatment of dental disease than for preventive procedures. By placing an emphasis on prevention, and by covering regular teeth cleaning and check-ups, Americans saved nearly $100 billion in dental care costs during the 1980s.
    
• Dental Insurance has waiting periods. A waiting period is a set amount of time that an insurance company will make you wait after your coverage begins before they will pay for certain procedures. Some waiting periods are as long as twelve (12) months!
  
• There is such a thing as a “Missing Tooth Clause and Replacement Period”. Apparently more than 90 percent of dental insurance companies have a missing tooth clause or a replacement clause. Some have at least one of these clauses, but most have both.
  
  • What is a missing tooth clause? A missing tooth clause protects the insurance company from paying for the replacement of a tooth that was missing before the policy was in effect. For example, if you lost a tooth or had one extracted before your coverage started and later you decided that you would like to have a partial denture or bridge, the insurance company would not have to pay for that service if they have a missing tooth clause in the plan.
    
  • What is a replacement clause? A replacement clause is similar to a missing tooth clause except that the insurance company will not pay to replace dentures, bridges or partials, etc… until a specified amount of time has passed.
    
• There are three (3) categories of dental procedures.
  
  • Preventative
  • Basic or Restorative
  • Major
  • There are many dental insurance companies that do not cover major charges. Some insurance companies may consider crowns, root canals, bridges, dentures and partials to be “major” dental procedures and if that plan/company does not cover major dental procedures and you need a root canal, you will be responsible for the entire bill, which can be as high as $3500 - $5000.
    
• Dental Insurance is expensive! Well, it is if you’re trying to insure your family anyway. The average quote I received was in the neighborhood of $1800 - $2200 per year to insure my family.

So, naturally, I found some alternatives! I discovered something called Dental Discount Plans. They are not insurance, at all! So they do not have any paperwork hassles, no health restrictions, no annual limits, join instantly, quick activation and You Can Start Saving Immediately. Now that’s the kind of plan I was looking for!

Here is a comparison chart I made up for myself during my research:

Click here to view full size chart in a new window.

Needless to say, I opted for a dental discount plan as opposed to buying dental insurance. As it turns out, I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars because I choose a dental discount plan over a traditional dental insurance plan. Click here to research available discount dental plans.

Use this link to search for Instant Dental Care with Huge Savings